An Introduction by IPM Chair, Cathy Parker MBE SFIPM, Professor of retail at Manchester Metropolitan
University and Research Lead for the High Streets Task Force.

Hello and welcome to the latest Institute of Place Management Member Bulletin for what feels to be,
as I think back over the first months of 2024, our busiest yet. As you’ll see it covers a wide range of
initiatives to support and engage with place managers and leaders, as well as new research, thought
leaderships and events.

To start, IPM has submitted evidence to the House of Lords Built Environment Committee inquiry
into high streets. In a 17-page submission, we responded to all 11 inquiry questions by drawing on a
range of evidence from IPM projects, including High Street UK 2020 (HSUK2020), Bringing Big Data to
Small Users (BDSU), High Street 2030, Vital and Viable Neighbourhoods, High Street Viability,
Partnerships Study, Place Leadership Study, and the High Streets Task Force (HSTF). In addition, our
response drew on evidence from a range of other high streets projects from place-focused
organisations and scholars working on this topic. We concluded our response by offering
recommendations for further supporting high streets.